Trump And The Apostate Church: The Destruction Of A Testimony

byBrittany PoundersonOctober 10, 2016

I know this post will generate a lot of mail that I don’t necessarily feel like dealing with. But there are those moments that are so compelling to one’s heart that they must handle it. So here is my raw moment of honesty…

I’m really struggling right now. Not with politics. Politics is as ugly as I always know it to be. I’m used to that. Not just used to it, hardened and callused to it. I choose to fight in the arena, but I do so only because I’m passionate about my principles. And my principles are defined by my faith.

But right now my heart is struggling with everything I’ve ever believed. My struggle is with the church. I’m watching the reaction to how leaders in The Church, many whom I’ve known my entire life, are destroying their testimonies by not only accepting this reprobate- but are blasphemously using God’s Word to defend him!

I was floored and appalled when I read a comment on my Facebook page by a missionary this morning who our family has financially supported to “stop bitching” about Trump. I was emailed by a “Christian woman” yesterday who told me that I should “feel flattered if a man talked to me that way.” I get refusals from Christian fathers to respond when I ask if they were willing to sacrifice the “crotches of their daughters” to save the country from Hillary. They respond with venomous attacks because their answer will either make them look like a hypocrite or a reprobate. Another woman who was the wife of a former pastor told me in regards to the same question, “As far as my daughters and grand-daughters are concerned, I trust them to God’s care.” Maybe the victim’s fathers simply didn’t trust them into God’s care quite enough and Trump really isn’t responsible for any of it?

I sat in church yesterday morning and I just felt grieved. It was hard for me to participate. In fact, I left early. The amount of “church people” who are dismissing this entire debacle as acceptable and normal, and attacking the voices who are saying, “no, this isn’t who we are!!!” makes me question everything. Do I even want to leave my little girl in the nursery with groups of people who feel it’s morally acceptable to defend this all for the sake of their party? The amount of church leaders who work in the youth groups who aren’t fighting this on a spiritual front and remaining silent leaves me wondering why bother? Where are the courageous men who are standing up and leading our boys towards Christ and demanding that they not become a part of the group who gives it up to go along? These are the men and women I entrust influencing the spiritual lives of my family… where is the righteous outrage? Where is the accountability as a body towards one another?

And for those of you who are wondering, I can assure you, my church is probably symptomatic of your church. The Church as a whole is destroying their testimony, their integrity, by their silence or outright acceptance.

I know we don’t look to man. Man will fail us. But man makes up the fellowship and part of it is becoming rotten.

Men and women who I trust to pour God’s Word into the heart of my children or care and nurture them in the nurseries of the churches, instead pours fuel on the cultural wars they declare to fight by declaring their unwavering support for a deviant because of…. politics? All the while declaring with a Bible in one hand and a shaking fist, that “we must trust God!” Apparently, we can only trust Him so far— we have to throw our testimonies under the bus to avoid Hillary Clinton – because He definitely can’t be trusted with that one.

There are two groups of people with whom I speak.

The first being the vocal Trump supporter who sacrilegiously declares that Trump is God’s appointed leader for this time. Those may be admired in their tiny echo chambers of mindless idiots. Outside of their tiny core, they’ve already lost all credibility. They will never again change hearts and minds and influence newcomers to their party and certainly not to their Bible Studies.

The second group is the formerly vocal political Christians who have suddenly gone dark and silent. You have no comments. You state piously on social media that “this has just become too ugly.” These are the cowards. You disappear when it actually matters—when the world is watching to see how we react to this as Christians.

This is the group who remains vocal on their principles when they have an audience who agrees with them. But they aren’t vocal on their principles when it might require a confrontation. These types of people are even more guilty of destroying their Christian testimonies because they clearly have the sense to know what’s wrong….but they don’t have the courage to stand up for what’s right. Suddenly, their statuses have a few Scripture verses that “might allude” to what’s going on… but they don’t dare translate that into every day current events and accountability towards their Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Look, as I’ve stated so many times. I’m not looking for a perfect president. I’ve never found a Republican candidate that I couldn’t support over the Democrat alternative. But I need to find one with whom I can find some sort of moral commonality.

So many times I have wanted to walk away from all of this. This election has broken me in so many ways. It has delivered me into some of my darkest moments- sometimes on a national stage that has left me wondering if I’ve done the right thing and if any of it is worth it.

It has left me with deep conversations with people in my life that I profoundly admire and respect. And they have reminded me that the church has made grave mistakes before. The solution is not to abandon it but to speak out and reform it.

So, while I admit I’m struggling. I remember that I stand shoulder to shoulder with good men who haven’t caved or been bought with massive donations. Many who don’t have large audiences but their courageous stands cost them just as much. Along with men like Russell Moore and Albert Mohler, who have identified this as the cancer that it is. New voices, like Wayne Grudem, who are waking up and issuing giant apologies to the church and to the nation for being so blinded.

The world is watching how the Christian community responds to this. And the church will own a lion’s share of the responsibility for the judgement that God brings on our country during a Hillary presidency.

About The Author: Brittany Pounders is a conservative political commentator, blogger, and freelancer. She is a frequent guest columnist for The Toronto Sun, and can be heard through many different radio and media outlets such as The Blaze Radio Network, The Chris Salcedo Show, The Ed Dean Radio Show, has appeared on The Glenn Beck Show and regularly on cable news channels, including NewsmaxTv, One America News Network, America Trends, and the Fox News with Neil Cavuto. She resides in Texas with her husband and is raising three of the finest little people in the world.
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@LibertyBritt

People just need to take a step back and get off their stumps. “Let he who is without sin….” and all. Trump is not the first reprehensible person to lead our country. Just the current one. Was the roman emperor a holy person but no ” give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. God can use any tool. Like i said he isn’t the first, just the most honest in his personality. There are many good things that he leans towards, and much of what is wrong with him is media spin. It is nearly impossible to defend what he said on that tape where he didn’t realize he was going to be put on TV 10 years later and was being egged on by the over voice that got skillfully edited off.

Joe Larsson

I’m also in shock of all of the people that or horrified that illegal immigrants might actually get deported. A what point did we decide we would only enforce the laws we like? There are 10k’s of though’s of people serving time for driving a car without a licence, but it is ok for people to invade our country without permission and because they managed to live off the system or work under the table, illegally for 10/20/30 years, evading taxes, now we should keep them in the country. What is wrong with this picture?

clevercowboy

Whoever gets elected is God’s appointed leader for our time. No matter how severe the tyranny that results, as Christians we are abide by the laws and be good citizens and be above reproach, NOT be revolutionaries.

We live in a Democracy, not a Theocracy. Peel away the outside facade of any candidate and you will find a sinner, and they will hold office as a sinner. I expect my president to not be a criminal, to respect the office, to put the USA first and the safety of its citizens, enforce borders, protect the unborn (as much as one person can do), enforce our Bill of Rights and Constitution, protect freedom of worship, etc. Jesus is my moral role model, not the President.

There are millions of dead American soldiers riddled in graves around the world, and slowly but surely what they died for are being taken from us while we bicker about the somebody else’s sin, not ours. Trump is the only one this election cycle who will try to preserve the freedom still left and maybe turn it around some, and bring criminals in high places to justice (hopefully).

Bash me if you will, but this has been a long thought and prayed over decision, and I am far from being a redneck.

David R. Mueller

Brittany, you need to get to know Mollie Ziegler Hemingway! She will definitely help you to sort through this whole ugly mishmash of church and politics. And she will help keep you focused on Christ Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Julie B Betz

Brittany, I don’t feel so alone anymore. I too am seeing/hearing ppl I’ve always trusted to counsel me that I must vote for the despicable Trump, violating their principles & beliefs. It’s beyond disappointing, bordering on depressing. I know God is in control, and it’s the only thing saving my sanity. But for me, I will write in Evan McMullin here in Texas!

Troy B.

Excellent article Brittany. I’ve share it widely. #EvanMcMullin

Larry Hall

Nough said

This is only a small percentage of a much longer list)
Of the two candidates running for president:
Only Hillary Clinton was caught lying to congress.
Only Hillary Clinton was fired from a job for being unethical.

Only Hillary Clinton ordered the deletion of over 30 thousand emails
after she was ordered to hand the server containing them over to the
Feds.
Only Hillary Clinton got the rapist of a teenage girl off on rape charges and then laughed about it during an interview.
Only Hillary Clinton lied to the American people about Benghazi.
Only Hillary Clinton lied to the American people about her emails.
Only Hillary Clinton lied about being under sniper fire after landing in Bosnia.
Only Hillary Clinton lied about actually lying to the American people.
Only Hillary Clinton was involved in “Cash Cow “
Only Hillary Clinton nationally belittled her husband’s sexual harassment (and rape) accusers.
Only Hillary Clinton is a career politician.
Only Hillary Clinton will not release her speeches to Goldman Sachs and other banks.
Only Hillary Clinton is tied to Monsanto.
Only Hillary Clinton was labeled “Extremely careless “about national security by the FBI.
Only Hillary Clinton said she will raise taxes on the middle class. Surprising right? Watch the speech.
Only Hillary Clinton benefited from the DNC rigging an election. Bernie never had a chance.
Only Hillary Clinton had to return stolen items from the White House.
Only Hillary Clinton said the Benghazi victim’s parents were lying.
Only Hillary Clinton wants you to vote for her based on her gender.
Only Hillary Clinton has been investigated by the FBI and found to have put national security at risk.

Only Hillary Clinton made congress and others spend millions and
millions of tax dollars having hearings and investigating her to find
that she lied, that would not have been spent if she would have simply
told the truth in the first place! Fact – all facts!
Only Hillary Clinton regularly cussed out and belittled her Secret Service detail.
But you are going to vote for her because…. you don’t like Donald Trump? That is insane!
I will never understand how any moral person in good conscience could vote for this woman.

I wrote on Facebook yesterday, “The worst thing about #Election2016 may not be who wins or loses but the damage done to Christian credibility when sharing the Gospel in the future.” Your post is a perfect example of what I meant. In response to how you feel (which is perfectly justified based on how many people in the church are acting), I go back to a quote I heard when myself and the woman who is now my wife were experiencing the “tares among the wheat” in the Church: “Judge Christianity by Christ, not by professing Christians.”

statler14

I appreciate your risking all the negatives you “might” get and hope you will appreciate my positives.Thank you for sharing your perspective. I am glad that God has used this to pull back the curtain to reveal those who are truly standing in the gap and those who are doing so for political gain.I will know better now just who is to be trusted and who is seeking power. May the Lord bless you for your faithfulness to His Word,